Book Review

History

The dead have always stalked the dark corners of the earth. Since World War II, the number of zombie outbreaks has increased every year, while governments desperately try to cover up the facts. Zombies: A Hunter's Guide contains all of the information necessary to recognize and combat this growing threat. Beginning with an explanation of the historical origins of zombies, it follows their history straight through to the threat they pose to the world today. All varieties of zombie are catalogued and examined, giving their strengths and weakness, with a special emphasis on recognition and elimination. Finally, the book covers the tactics and equipment used in zombie fighting. Accompanied by numerous full-colour reconstructions to help with identification, this book is a must for anyone on the frontlines of the Zombie Wars.
History from the Osprey Publishing web site.

The Book

Osprey Publications Ltd has released Zombies – A Hunter’s Guide as Number 3 in their Osprey Adventures Dark series. It is available as a softcover and a hardcover book with 80 pages. Included with the text are black and white photographs, color photographs, color illustrations, and detailed captions. It has a 2010 copyright for the softcover and a 2013 copyright for the hardback. The ISBN for the paperback version is 978-1-8490-8395-9. The ISBN for the hardback version is 978-1-4728-0338-2. The hardback version is bound in black with silver embossing on the cover and silver gilt edging on the pages.

** Osprey Adventures
** There is a line where fact and fiction meet. This is the realm of Osprey Adventures. Unlike bookstores, the world is not divided into fiction and non-fiction. There are many subjects, such as myths and legends, secret histories, folklore, conspiracy theories, cryptozoology, UFOs and aliens that often don’t fit neatly into either category. Osprey Adventures was created to explore these topics, and produce books filled with interesting stories, whether they be factual, fictional, or somewhere in between. **
** Quoted from the Osprey Publishing web site.

The Text

As one can guess by the title of the book, the main focus is on zombies, their various types. The text in the book is nicely written and well detailed. Please refer to the Contents section of this review to learn all that is discussed in this volume. The contents section is very accurate in regards to the information that Joseph A. McCullough has provided. This is a well written book that will be of great use and interest to the well-seasoned and knowledgeable gamer, zombie hunter/enthusiast, zombie doomsday prepper or the individual that is new to the zombie genre in the and wants to learn more. Joseph A. McCullough does an excellent job of detailing the various types of zombies, their history and specific individuals and incidents throughout history. As I read through the text I didn’t notice any spelling or grammatical errors. Grammar and spelling might not be an important factor to everyone however it is something that I take notice of and pass on my findings. I feel that if the text is well written then it shows that the author has taken the time to be a professional with their writing. Anyone wanting to add an excellent reference and history book on various types of zombies and related incidents to their personal library will be pleased with this very informative and detailed book.

The Photographs
There are a total of 7 black and white photographs and 5 color photographs. The photographs that were chosen for this book were for the most part lesser known photographs as opposed to photographs that are featured in many other titles that deal with the same subject matter. Author Joseph A. McCullough stuck to the title of the book and chose subject specific photographs and did not include photographs that strayed from the main subject of the book. The majority, if not all, of the photographs will prove to be a wealth of information to the gamer, zombie hunter/enthusiast, zombie doomsday prepper and the scale figure and diorama modeler due to the details they contain.

The Illustrations
There are a total of 20 black and white illustrations and 19 color illustrations featured throughout the book by various illustrators. Most of the illustrations are approximate ¼ to ½ page illustrations. In addition to the smaller illustrations there are 8 full page and two-page color illustrations.
The color illustrations are of the following:

1. Bokor with Voodoo Zombie
- A bokor standing hold a large snake and a flaming torch with a voodoo zombie bodyguard standing in the background. A bokor is a voodoo sorcerer or priest.

2. Nazi Zombies
- Four Nazi zombies during the battle of Kursk in 1943. Two of the Nazi zombies are pulling a Russian victim from a Russian tank.

3. Revenant
- A revenant zombie emerging from its grave in a cemetery near a castle by the light of a full moon.

4. The Peoria Outbreak, 1958
- Zombies attacking a local drive-in restaurant during one of the first major atomic zombie outbreaks in the United States.

5. The Toronto Frenzy
- A small viral outbreak in Canada with a red-coated woman standing on the roof of a bullet riddled car directing zombies during an attack in 2007.

6. Viral Hounds
- A pack of zombie canines that have surrounded a non-zombie Doberman Pinscher dog that is standing on top of a grave ledger.

7. “The LA Bust-out”
- Members if the US Army’s 34th Regiment “Specialist Zombie Hunters” conducting a reconnaissance and rescue mission during the United States’ largest viral zombie outbreak that took place in 2009.

8. Room Clearance.
– An overhead view detailing how to clear rooms of zombies. Please refer to the DIAGRAMS portion of my review for further details.

As with the photographs the majority, if not all, of the illustrations will prove to be a wealth of information to the gamer, zombie hunter/enthusiast, zombie doomsday prepper and the scale figure and diorama modeler due to the details they contain.

Diagrams
There is 1 color included in this volume which is well done and details:
An overhead view detailing how the US Army containment team clears rooms of zombies. Provided with the diagram is a guide detailing the members of a four-man containment team. It explains what each member carries for weaponry and his specific tasks and responsibilities as a member of the team. In addition, there is a key that identifies the three different symbols used in the diagram. The three symbols used represent troopers (team members), zombies and dead zombies. This is a nicely done illustration that provides pertinent information for clearing a room or rooms of zombies.

- Billy The Kid
- Contains a brief history of Billy The Kid, his death, his regeneration, and his bodies return to its grave in Fort Sumner, New Mexico.

The Captions
The captions are well written and explain the accompanying photographs and illustrations in great detail eliminating any doubt as to what is shown. The captions go into very specific detail as to the type of zombie shown, weapons, dates and locations and other such pertinent information. I was very impressed by Joseph A. McCullough’s captions as they are very helpful to the reader due to their detailed content as opposed to other captions I have seen that are very brief and lack detail.

I obtained this book from Osprey Publishing Ltd. Please be sure to mention that you saw the book reviewed here when you make your purchase.

Conclusion

As with the other Osprey Publishing weapons series titles I was impressed with this volume and enjoyed it very much. This is a very nice reference book that contains many close-up, detailed, subject specific photographs and illustrations and well detailed captions. It details various types of zombies and incidents and all pertinent information associated with each. I would have no hesitation to add other Osprey Publishing titles from the Osprey Adventures series to my personal library nor would I hesitate to recommend this book to others as it will be a welcome addition to one’s personal reference library.

Highs: Well written text and captions plus subject specific photographs and illustrations.
Lows: Nothing to mention.Verdict: Another excellent volume in Osprey Publishing’s Dark series from the Osprey Adventures line of books. Definitely beneficial to the gamer, zombie hunter/enthusiast, the zombie doomsday prepper and the scale figure and diorama modeler.

I have been in the modeling hobby off and on since my youth.
I build mostly 1/35 scale. However I work in other scales for aircraft, ships and the occasional civilian car kit. I also kit bash and scratch-build when the mood strikes.
I mainly model WWI and WWII figures, armor, vehic...